Mechanism for partially folding containers



Jan. 17, 1939. R. D. BENNETT 2,144,283

MECHANISM FOR PARTIALLY FOLDING CQNTAINERS Filed Sept. 20, 1957 4 Sheeis-Sheet 1 Jan. 17, 1939. RD. BENNETT 3 MECHANISM FOR PARTIALLY FOLDING CONTAINERS Filed Sept. 20, 1957 '4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan, 17, 1939. R. D. BENNETT 2,144,283

MECHANISM FOR PARTIALLY FOLDING CONTAINERS Filed Sept. 20, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 i o i 92 O O Jan. 17, 1939. R. D. BENNETT 2,144,283

MECHANISM FOR PARTIALLY FOLDING CONTAINERS Filed Sept. 20, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Jan, 11, 1939 LIECHANISM FOR PARTIALLY FOLDING CONTAINERS Racy D. Bennett, Detroit, Mich, aaaignor to The American Paper Bottle Company, Toledo, Ohio,

a corporation of Ohio Application September 20, 1937, Serial No. 164,776

13Claims.

when the container is to be used in the storage, transportation and dispensing of milk or other perishable commodity, it is desirable that a par tial folding of the foldable end extension be efcontainers of the type disclosed in Patent No. fected while the container is empty, then to r,

2,047,891, granted July 14, 1936 to Henry T. charge the container, and to finally complete Scott. the folding and sealing operation.

The container which comprises the subject A mechanism for partially folding containers matter of the patent above identified is fabriof this type is disclosed in Patent 2,056,330 grantcated of relatively stiff paper, is tubular in form ed to Henry T. Scott October 6, 1936 and it is and coated exteriorly and interiorly with paraffin the primary purpose of the present invention to or like coating material the purpose of which is provide an improved mechanism of the general to prevent the penetration of moisture to the type disclosed in that patent for effecting the paper fibers. It is fabricated bya process which partial closing of the container end extension involves the preliminary formation of a flat blank while the container is empty, a mechanism con- 15 divided by score lines into panels, and the substructed in accordance with the present invensequent folding of the major panels with respect tion having a number of practical advantages in to each other into a tube of rectangular crossoperation over that previously used and patented section, one end of which is closed and the other for this purpose. Thus the mechanism of the end open. That portion of the container adjainstant application is lighter, simpler, more comcent its open end comprises a foldable end extenpact and somewhat more eilicient in operation sion, being divided by score lines into a number than that previously made use of, is less likely of panels which may be folded relatively to each to require adjustment or replacement of parts due other, after the container has been coated, into to w ar. as the su f l n u d p r t n. the form of the novel container end closure fully and is so designed and constructed that the 1308- described in said patent. The closure of the conty the SOillhg tion of the tainer may be effected manually after the coninterior of a container upon which it acts is elimtainer has been charged with a liquid or other inated. The various novel features of the invencommodity to be transported and dispensed, tion will be hereinafter fully described and parpreferably, however, it is closed by automatically flfilllally Pointed out, but it will b pp ate operating machines, the complete closure being by those skilled in the art that that form of the effected in two stages, 1. e., a first or partial cloinvention Which is fully disclosed by Way Of X- sure which is effected by one machine or apparaample may be dified n minor respects without tus and a final closure which is effected by a secdeparture from the teachings o t nvention. ond machine or apparatus, both such machines In the accompanying awings: or apparatus comprising units of a complete Figure 1 is a partial transverse section through automatic machine for forming containers from the complete ut at c machine of which the blanks, coating them interiorly and exteriorly, Present invention comprises e t, the various charging with liquid or other commodity, and Operating Pa s of th novel Partial folding ec closing and sealing the same. anism being shown in side elevation;

It is desirable to effect the closure of the fold- Figure 2 is a section on line f Fi ure 1, able end extension of the container in two stages, certain of the Parts of t machine, however. instead of in a single stage, by reason of the h f Shown in elevation. and also in positions fact that it is necessary, in order that the several W h are dmelfint from those n which they are panels of the end extension be folded along score Illustrated in Figure 1;

lines with rapidity and accuracy, that the side Figure 318 a similar View but showing the v walls of the container be interiorly supported by ating Parts 0f the mechanism in Positions which a container entering means or mandrel while t are different from those in which they are shown end panels are being deflected, thus ensuring that to occupy in Figure the panels are relatively folded or deflected pre- Figure 4 is P View Of p s o the cisely along the intermediate score lines and not machine and novel mechanism; elsewhere. As it is not desirable to insert any Figure 5 is a section on line 5--5 of Figure 2; side wall supporting mandrel or the like into the Figure 6 is a section on line 6-6 of Figure 2; container after it has been charged, especially Figure 7 is a perspective view indicating the 66 position of one of the folding fingers of the mechanism with respect to a container being folded, at the end of the operative stroke of the folding finger;

Figure 8 is a front elevation of the operating cam by which the several parts of the mechanism are driven;

Figure 9 is a section on line 9-9 of Figure 3;

Figure 10 is a development of the cam, showing the configuration of the cam paths;

Figures 11 and 12 are elevations of two of the container engaging and folding fingers respectively;

Figure 13 is a view of a container showing the container in the condition in which it is subjected to the action of the partial folding mechanism; and

Figure 14 is a perspective view of the container showing itscondition after having been acted upon by the novel partial folding mechanism.

The novel partial folding mechanism is primarily intended for use in the partial folding of containers fabricated of relatively stiff paper and which, after having been coated with a leakproofing substance, and thereby rendered waterproof, will be self-supporting and shape retaining even when filled with a liquid. The partially completed containers, when ready for submission to the action of the mechanism now to be described, are in the condition illustrated in Figure 13, in which figure the body of the container, which comprises'four side walls and bottom (not illustrated) is indicated at B and the foldable end extension thereof is generally indicated at C, the several side panels of the body portion being divided from the end extension by four score lines, disposed in a plane, two of which score lines are indicated in Figure 13 by the reference numerals l9 and II respectively. The end extension, above the score lines Ill and I I, may be said to comprise the foldable walls l2 and the collapsible walls l3, the foldable walls l2 being divided by score lines I 4 and I5 into three panels, indicated at l6, l1 and I9, the last mentioned panel being a projecting tongue or flap, and the collapsible walls II of the end extension being divided by means of diagonal score lines i9 and into three triangular panel sections 2|, 22 and 23 and by the substantially horizontal score lines 24 and 25, and the intermediate, vertical score line 26, into the upper substantially rectangular panels 21 and 29. It is the function of the present apparatus to effect the partial collapse of the collapsible side walls i 3 of the end extension by relatively folding the triangular panels 2|, 22 and 23 along the diagonal score lines l9 and 20 and relatively folding the substantially rectangular panels 21 and 29 about the vertical score line 26, also to effect the bodily inward deflection or bending, to a certain extent, of the opposed sections i2 of the container end extension about score lines l0, without, however, relatively folding the panels l6, l1 and i8 about score lines l4 and I5, so that the container, after it has been acted upon, has the appearance of that illustrated in Figure 14 and is ready for charging and then final closure and sealing.

The apparatus preferably includes, in addition to the mechanism for folding the panels in the manner just described, a conveyor for automatically bringing containers successively into position to be engaged and operated on and for successively removing the containers after such operation has been performed. The details of the conveyor mechanism, however, form no por- Mounted upon the chain are equidistantly spaced upstanding members each of which is provided with two container engaging elements 36 adapted to engage the opposite side walls of a container 31, illustrated in chain lines in the various figures. The bottoms of the container may rest upon or at least be guided by the upper edges of the conveyor rails 34 and it will be seen that the container engaging elements 36 engage the container side walls only a short distance above the bottom thereof. The elements 36 are so spaced apart that the container walls are tightly engaged thereby and to a minor extent inwardly deflected, in, order that the container may not be upwardly displaced or lifted from the conveyor by the mechanism, now to be described, for partially collapsing its foldable end.

This mechanism is supported upon a frame 40 which is in turn rigidly secured to a base or support 4| which may conveniently be one of the side frame members of the automatic machine of which the mechanism preferably comprises one operating unit. The protective housing 42, likewise mounted upon the frame, and preferably in such manner that it may be readily removed, envelops the mechanism to a substantial extent. Parallel horizontally extending brackets 43 and 44, which may be said to comprise portions of the frame 49, extend toward a vertical plane which includes the horizontal longitudinal axis of the conveyor chain 30, the outer end of bracket 43 being intersected by such plane while the outer end of bracket terminates short of the plane described. Parallel vertically disposed guide rods are indicated at G and G, each of these rods having its upper end rigidly secured to bracket 43 and its lower end rigidly mounted in bracket 44. Upon these guide rods are mounted for vertical sliding movement slides 45 and 46, respectively, slide 45 carrying a roller 41 which projects into a cam groove 43 formed in a cam 49 which is circular in plan, and slide 46 carrying a roller 59 projecting into the lower cam groove 5| of cam 49. From an inspection of Figures 8 and 10 the shapes of the cam grooves 48 and 5| may be readily perceived, each of these grooves being continuous and the cam 49 being mounted for rotation about a vertical axis, from which axis all portions of each cam groove are equidistantly spaced. Thus cam 49 is mounted upon a shaft 52 the upper end of which is supported in a bearing, portion of which is indicated at 53 and which is rigid with frame 40, the lower end of shaft 52 being rotatably supported in a bearing 54 rigid with bracket 44. Below bearing 54 shaft 52 has fixed thereon a spirally toothed gear 55, the teeth of which mesh with those of a similarly formed gear 56 fixed upon horizontally extending shaft 51, which constitutes a drive shaft by'means from which the power necessary for the operation is derived. It will be readily perceived that rotation of shaft 51 results in rotation of cam 49 and that, as a result of rotation of the cam, the slides 45 and 46 will be vertically reciprocated along guide rods G and G.

. The cam grooves 48 and 5| are so formed that, for the most part, the slides and 46 rise and fall together but are modified to effect relative movements of these slides throughout a certain portionof the angular travel of the cam, as will be hereinafter more fully explained. Various instrumentalities for directly acting upon successive containers are carried by the slides and will now be described.

Each container to be acted upon is positioned as indicated in Figures 1, 2 and 3, with the 'foldable sides l5 disposed in planes parallel to the vertical plane of the conveyor chain and its collapsible sides l3 disposed transversely thereto.

The axis of the container is coincident with the axis of the container entering mandrel, generally indicated at M, which mandrel is of such size that it may be freely introduced into the interior of the container. The axis of the container is also positioned equidistantly from the axes of rotation of the pivotally mounted folding fingers which act upon the exterior surfaces of the collapsible sides of the container and extension.

The mandrel M includes container wall supporting fingers 60, each having an elongated container wall engaging edge Bl, as shown in Figure 11, and the wall engaging fingers being mounted for rocking movement about parallel supporting studs or arbors 62, the ends of which studs or arbors are rigidly mounted in parallel substantially vertically disposed webs 63 depending from a hollow tubular member 66 which comprises the mandrel support. Each finger 60 is provided with an enlarged toothed portion 60' and the teeth of each such portion are in con stant mesh with the teeth of the double rack member 65, comprising the lower end portion of the vertically disposed rod 66 which projects through the tube 64 and is axially movable relatively thereto. It will be seen that, when upward movement of rod 66 is brought about, when the container wall supporting fingers 60 are positioned as shown in Figure 2, that the fingers 6U will be angularly rocked from the positions in which they are shown in this figure to the posi-'- tions in which they are shown in Figure 3, in which positions their outer edges 6| engage opposed inner wall surfaces of the container and when the rod 66 is moved in the reverse direction' fingers 60 will be retracted.

The'exterior or folding fingers are indicated at 10 and these fingers are likewise mounted for rocking movement about parallel axes, being mounted upon spindles or arbors H, the ends of which are mounted in spaced supports" which comprise integral downward extensions of vertically extending portions 13 of a block or yoke member generally indicated at 14. The lower end of each folding finger 10 has an enlarged circular toothed portion ID the teeth of which mesh with those of a verticallydisposed rack 15 mounted for vertical sliding movement in yoke 14. It is clear that, when the folding fingers 10 are in the positions in which they are shown in Figure 2, and the racks 15 are simultaneously raised through a predetermined distance, the folding fingers will be simultaneously inwardly rocked to the positions in which they are shown in Figure 3, and when the racks are simultaneously lowered the folding fingers will be returned to their original positions, as shown in Figure 2.

adapted to substantially register, when the finger is rocked inwardly, with the diagonal score lines l9. and 20 of the adjacent collapsible side of the container end extension, folding fingers 10 being adapted to bear against triangular panel 2| over substantially the entire area of the panel during the collapsing operation in order to rock this panel as an entirety about the score line H and deflect it into the position in which it is shown in Figure 14. Each folding finger 10 has formed integrally therewith a tapered end extension 80, the sides of which are disposed in planes which intersect at a corner or edge 8| which lies in a plane normal to the axis of rotation of the folding finger. This edge 8 I of the extension is disposed at an angle to the fiat inner con-- of the collapsible container end extension. Thus the projection 80 of the folding finger is intended to, and does, apply in a precise manner a force to the container wall tending to bend the same sharply along score line'26, contact being made after the triangular panel 2i has been slightly deflected from the vertical, and as a result the container wall is sharply folded along this vertical score line, as well as along diagonal score lines l9 and 20 when the folding finger is operated, the integrity of all panels being maintained during the folding operation and sharpness and regularity of folding about the desired score lines realized. In Figure 7 of the drawings the folding fingers 10 are illustrated in the positions which they occupy with respect to the container being acted upon at or about the end of their operating strokes.

During the time that folding fingers 10 ar active in effecting the folding operations just described, the edges 6| of the supporting fingers 60 are in contact with the inner faces of the opposed side walls of the container body, each edge 6! being located approximately at or just below a score line H. Hence the inward movement of folding finger HI cannot result in inward flexure being shown in Figure 1 4.

The folding and supporting fingers must of course be raised and lowered and accurately actuated in timed relationship. Both sets of operating fingers simultaneously rise and fall with the yoke 14 and yoke 14 is caused to reciprocate vertically in timed relationship to the movements of the conveyor chain. =Yoke 14 is secured to the outer end of bracket 46' integral with slide 46, which slide is vertically moved due to the engagement of roller 50 in slot 5| of the rotating cam 49. The tubular member 54 upon the lower end of which the container entering collapsible mandrel M is mounted has an enlarged upper portion which extends through an aperture formed in It will be appreciated that as the yoke I4, being secured in any desired position with respect to the main portion of the yoke by the clamping blocks 85 and 86 which are retained within a transverse recess in the yoke 14 and drawn into tight engagement with the enlarged tubular portion 64 by means of screw 81.

The upper end of member 64 is hollowed out axially to receive a coiled compression spring 88 the upper end of this spring being confined by cap 68 and its lower end resting against an abutment 88 adjustably secured to the central rod 66. Spring 88 is normally in compression and. when released, thrusts rod 66 downwardly with respect to the yoke and hence causes inward tilting of the supporting fingers 68 to the positions in which they are shown in Figure 2. The upper end of rod 66 passes through an aperture in the end of bracket 43 and there are mounted thereon, at a point above this last mentioned bracket, two adjustable nuts, an abutment nut 82 and lock nut 62'. The position of the nuts 92 and 93 may be regulated at will to determine the exact instant, in the downward travel of the yoke 14, of stoppage of rod 66 and hence, assuming that there is continued downward movement of the yoke and hence relative movement between the yoke and rod 66, bringing about the actuation or spreading out of the supporting fingers at a very definite point in the travel of rod 66, which point is so regulated that the fingers 68, when extended, contact with the container walls at or just below score lines ll. As the yoke is raised, the cap 88 is of course elevated, allowing the spring 89 to expand, yet maintaining sufficient downward pressure on spring abutment 98 to prevent, for an initial period during the rising movement of the yoke, raising of the rod 66, and hence ensuring relative movement of the rod and yoke and inward folding of the supporting finger 68. After this relative movement has occurred, and the supporting fingers 68 have been moved into the positions in which they have been shown in Figure 2, the yoke and rod will thereafter move upwardly in unison as the slide 46 is raised and no outswinging' of the supporting fingers 66 will again occur until, upon the subsequent downward move! ment of the yoke, the abutment nut 82 again comes in contact with bracket 43.

In order to effect swinging movement of the folding fingers 18 in timed relationship with the movements of other parts of the mechanism, each of these fingers is operatively connected to the upper slide 45. Thus slide 45 has an extension 45' provided with spaced vertical apertures 45 through which the threaded upwardly projecting stems 83 of racks 84 extend the connection between bracket or slide extension 45' and racks 94 being a lost motion connection, the position of nuts 85 and 86 on stems 88 determining the amount of lost motion. Intermediate the upper and lower nuts 86 are spring abutments in the nature of washers, indicated at 81, and coil springs 98 have their upper ends resting against these spring abutments and their lower ends resting upon the yoke 14 encircling the semi-circular racks 84. It will be perceived that racks 94 are guided in their vertical movements in bushings 69 each of which is cut away in the vicinity of a pinion I mounted for rotation about an axis fixed with respect to yoke 14, pinion I00 meshing with the teeth of both racks 84 and 15 so that upward movement of rack 94 will effect downward movement of rack I and vice versa.

When the yoke "is in its elevated or inoperative position, the springs 84 are expanded, as

shown in Figure 2, the racks 84 are in their uppermost positions, the racks in their lowermost positions, and folding fingers 10 in inoperative position The rod 66 has also been thrust downwardly by the action of spring 88 so that the supporting fingers 60 are also in inoperative position. The abutment nuts 92 and 92' on the upper end of rod 66 are elevated a substantial distance above the bracket 43 and it is while the parts are in the positions just described that the conveyor chain functions to bring a container into position to be engaged and partially folded. At this time the rollers 41 and 50 of the upper and lower slides are in the horizontal portions 48' and 5| of the cam slots 48 and 5| respectively. As the cam 49 rotates, however, these rollers will enter the downwardly inclined portions 48 and 5| of the cam slots, which inclined portions are of substantially identical slope with respect to the horizontal and therefore bring about simultaneous and equal downward movements of the slides 45 and 46 which slides carry the slide extension 45', and the yoke 14, respectively. The roller 50 then enters the horizontal mid portion 5| of the cam slot 5! and the downward movement of yoke 14 immediately ceases, the folding fingers mounted on this slide having reached operative position. Just prior, however, to the time when yoke 14 reaches its lowermost position, the abutment nut 92 comes into contact with the upper surface of bracket 43 halting the downward movement of rod 66 while the downward movement of the yoke still continues to a limited extent. A slight relative movement of rod and yoke therefore has occurred before the yoke 14 is finally positioned, this relative movement being suflicient to extend the supporting fingers 60 or to move them into the positions in which they are shown in Figure 3 so that the edges 6| of the supporting fingers engage opposed inner wall surfaces of the container at the instant when the downward movement of yoke 14 ceases.

The upper slide 45, however, continues to move downwardly after the movement of yoke 14 is halted, due to the fact that cam slot 48 continues to slope downwardly to a point of sharp reverse, having no horizontal portion such as that indicated at 5! in Figure 10. As a result of this continued downward movement of the upper slide 45, the racks 94 are thrust downwardly against the actions of springs 98, the racks I5 being simultaneously drawn upwardly and the folding fingers HI swung inwardly to the positions shown in Figure 3, folding the collapsible sides of the container. After the cam 46 has travelled a further distance, and the rollers 41 and 58 have passed the vertical mid-line I02 of the cam, the upper roller 41 will commence its upward or return movement while the lower roller 50 still remains in the horizontal portion 5| of its cam slot. Hence the slide extension bracket 45' will rise while yoke I4 still remains stationary, permitting racks 94 to be elevated by springs 98 and thereby causing downward movement of racks l5 and retraction of folding fingers 10. Shortly thereafter the yoke 14 will likewise begin its upward movement and simultaneously with such initial upward movement the folding fingers 60 are retracted since, owing to the expanding action of spring 88, rod 66 is held in its lowermost position until the yoke has travelled an appreciable distance upwardly and the spring abutment 88 has seated itself against the lower end of the spring recess, as shown in Figure 2. At this point the supporting fingers 60 have been completely retracted and the fingers and other'parts which together comprise the collapsible container entering mandrel may be readily withdrawn from the sharply folded container. The cycle of operations is repeated for subsequently positioned containers and, as has previously been pointed out, the movements ofthe folding mechanism are synchronized with 7 those of the conveyor carrier.

Attached to the side of the yoke member 14 is a member Ill] comprising essentially two downwardly and outwardly inclined wings III which make equal angles with a vertical plane through the axis of the vertical -conveyor chain. As the yoke H is lowered, the wings of member I I0 contact with the sloping sides I! of, a container just below it and which container has just been previously partially folded by the folding mechanism. The pressure of the wings Ill upon the sides is sufficiently great'to more sharply define the angles between the sloping sides l2 and the vertical sides of the container body just below score lines I 0, which is of advantage in the subsequent closure of the container.

To the lower end of the mandrel M is secured a dirt catching and retaining pan H5 to catch and retain any dirt, metal fragments or oil which may fall from the operating parts. The pan H5, therefore, serves to prevent accidental soiling or contamination of a container, which of course is highly undesirable when food products are being handled.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new'and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. Mechanism for partially folding container closures comprising, a folding finger adapted to be moved toward a container supported in a predetermined position, to inwardly fold or defiect portion of such container, and thereafter to be moved away from such container, and mechanism for operating said finger including two relatively movable members, an element carried by one of said members and also movable with respect thereto, said element being operatively connected to said folding finger and to the other member, whereby relative movement of said members results in movement of said finger.

2. Mechanism for partially folding container closures comprising, a folding finger adapted to be moved toward a container supported in a predetermined position to inwardly fold a portion of said container and to be thereafter moved away from such container, and mechanism for operating said finger including two relatively movable members, an element carried by one of said members and also movable with respect thereto, a second element carried by said member and movable with respect thereto, the first element being operatively connected to said folding finger and the second element to said other member, and means operatively connecting said elements whereby relative movement of said members results in movement of said finger.

3. Mechanism for partially folding container closures comprising, a folding finger adapted to be moved toward a container supported in a predetermined position to inwardly fold a portion of said container and to be thereafter moved away from such container, and mechanism for operat ing said finger including two relatively movable members, a rack carried by one of said members and longitudinally slidable with respect thereto, a second rack slidably carried by said member, a pinion rotatably mounted on said member with which pinion both racks mesh, means operatively connecting one rack to the folding finger and second means operatively connecting the other rack to the other member, whereby relative movement of said members causes ,simultaneous movements of the racks in opposite directions and movement of saidfinger 4. Mechanism for partially folding container closures comprising, a folding finger adapted to be moved toward a container supported in a predetermined position to inwardly fold a portion of said container and to be thereafter moved away from such container, and mechanism for operating said finger including two relatively movable members, a rack carried by one of said members and longitudinally slidable with respect thereto, a second rack slidably carried by said member, a pinion rotatably mounted on said member with which pinion both racks mesh, means operatively connecting one rack to the folding finger and second means including a lost motion device operatively connecting the other rack to the other member, whereby relative movement of said members results in delayed movement of said finger.

5. The combination set forth in claim 4 in which the said racks are disposed in parallel relationship and said pinion is mounted for rota- .tion about an axis fixed with respect to said member.

6., The combination set forth in claim 4 in which yielding means acts on one of said racks at all times and tends to produce movement of said rack in such direction that retraction of the folding finger results.

7. Mechanism for partially folding container closures including a container entering mandrel which comprises a supporting member, container wall engaging fingers movably mounted on said member, an element for simultaneously acting upon, and operating, said fingers, and a spring for normally urging said element in such direction as to cause retraction of said fingers.

8. The combination set forth in claim 7 in which the spring is housed within a recess in the supporting member at a point remote from the container wall engaging members.

9. Mechanism for partially folding container closures including a container entering mandrel comprising a vertically disposed supporting member, container wall engaging fingers movably mounted upon the said member at the lower end thereof, and dirt catching and retaining pan attached to said member and underlying said members.

l0. Mechanism for partially folding container closures including a container entering mandrel comprising a vertically disposed supporting member, container wall engaging fingers pivotally connected to the lower end of said member, a vertically disposed operating rod the lower end of which is operatively connected. to said fingers, and a dirt retaining pan underlying said rod and the pivotal connebtions between saidmember and fingers.

11. In a mechanism for partially folding the .foldable end closures of scored paper containers subsequent point in its travel to deflect the previously folded panels thereof.

12. In a mechanism for partially folding the foldable end closures of scored paper containers comprising a conveyor for holding containers and advancing the same along a predetermined path with a step-by-step motion, means movable vertically with respect to the conveyor for engaging and partially folding a container end while temporarily halted at one point in the travel thereof, and a device secured to said means and vertically movable therewith for inwardly defleeting two opposed previously folded panels of said container while the container is at rest at a point next following that which it occupies when being partially folded, said device including two panel engaging elements angularly fixed with respect to each other.

13. Mechanism for relatively folding the triangular and substantially rectangular panels of the scored side walls of a paper container comprising, a triangular folding finger adapted to engage a triangular panel over substantially the entire area thereof, and a part to engage a scored portion intermediate two adjacent panels, said part projecting from the apex of the folding finger and having an edge inclined to the plane of said finger and flat side faces meeting at said edge.

RACY D. BENNE'I'I. 

